National railway ONCF | 3000 V DC Main network | |
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Ridership 38 million per year (2012–13) Freight 36 million tons per year (2012–13) Main 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ⁄2 in) standard gauge 25 kV 50 Hz High-speed line (under construction) | ||
Rail transport in Morocco is operated by the ONCF.
Contents
Main connections
The main network for passenger-transport consists of a North-South link from Tangier via Rabat and Casablanca to Marrakech and this N/S link interconnects with the East-West connection linking Oujda in the East via Fes to Rabat. Major destinations currently not (yet) linked by rail are often served by Supratours, a bus company operated by the ONCF.
The most important long-distance train services are:
Night trains
The ONCF operates special night-trains on the long-distance main-line links. The following routes offer night-trains:
These long-distance trains operate with non-motorized passenger cars that have individual compartments. Second class compartments have two couches opposite each other, each couch offering 4 places. In first-class cars each compartment offers 2 x 3 places and foldable arm-rests divides the places. In 1st class each passenger has a reserved assigned seat.
Each compartment has its own door to the aisle and curtains can be drawn to keep the compartment dark. In the night-trains, passengers in a 2nd class compartment tend to draw the curtains, switch off the lights and close the sliding door, hoping that no passengers will enter their compartment so the existing passengers have more space. In first class each seat is assigned thus there the system doesn't work.
When trains are not busy you can be lucky and have a full couch available per passenger so you can lie down.
Besides these 'normal' compartments (that are also used on day-time trains, the special night-trains also offer sleeper-cars with bedrooms/compartments or couchettes. For a bed or couchette you pay a fixed price, regardless of the route or distance traveled. Beds and couchettes have to be reserved when you buy your ticket.
Marrakech-Tangier vv
Every day there is one train on the route Marrakech-Tangier in each direction. On this route the standard 6 or 8 person compartments are available as well as the 4 person couchette-compartments.
timetable: Departure Marrakech at 21:00 with stops at (amongst others) Casablanca Voyageurs (0:45), Rabat-Ville (1:57), Kentira (2:37) and Sidi-Kacem (3:33). Arriving in Tangier at 7:25 hrs.
Departure Tangier at 21:05, Sidi-Kacem (1:30), Kentira (2:35), Rabat (3:15), Casablanca (4:30) and arriving in Marrakech at 08:05 hrs.
Casablanca-Oujda vv
The time-tables for Oujda trains are:
Departure Oudja: 21:00, Taorirt (22:43), Fez (3:00), Kentira (4:30), Rabat (6:15) and arriving at Casablanca-Voyageurs: 07:15 hrs
Departure Casablanca-Voyageurs: 21:15, Rabat (22:23), Kentira (22:51), Fez (1:30), Taorirt (5:03), terminating Oujda: 07:00 hrs.
This train is a so-called Hotel train
Casablanca-Nador vv
Dept. Nador: 19:43 hrs, Fez (1:00) (change for Tangier) arriving in Casablanca at 06:15 hrs.
Dept. Casablanca: 19:45, Fez (0:15) arriving in Nador at 06:00.
Nador is not start/terminus: trains run from/to nearby Bin Anşār or Nador Port The night-train on this route only offers 2 person sleeping compartments with full beds. No couchettes available.
As the train doesn't go to Taourirt there is no need to change driving-direction and thus no need to move the engine. The day trains all do stop at Taourirt and as the link to Nador is actually before the station of Taourirt (coming from Fes) the direction of travel has to change, including moving the locomotive from one end to the other
Tangier-Nador vv
Leaving Nador: 17:43 hrs, Fes (23:00) and terminating in Tangier at 07:00
start: Tangier 21:35, Fes (2:30) arrival in Nador at 09:32 start/terminus: trains run from/to Bin Anşār or Nador Port
Hotel-train Oujda-Casablanca
The 21:00 Oujda-Casablanca and 21:15 Casablanca-Oujda train is a so-called Hotel-Train: these trains ONLY offer reserved sleeping places and no 1st and 2nd class seats. This special Hotel Train service started on 29 June 2010 and featured in the James Bond film Spectre.
Light rail
Heavy rail
Projects
The national railway-operator ONCF is working on several projects. The largest project is the development of a high-speed railway from Tangier via Rabat and Casablanca to Marrakech. Also a (passenger) rail connection between Tangier and Tangier MED, the port on the Mediterranean near Tangier, will give passengers arriving by ferry a connection to the main lines. A train will operate every 2 hours between the port and Tangier city. A freight-line from the Renault factory at Tangier MED is already operational